The present invention is generally related to data management in handling of food products. More specifically, the present invention is related to a method and apparatus for obtaining temperature history data on food products.
Certain food products must be maintained within a particular range of temperatures or they will spoil. Spoiled food products can cause sickness and death if consumed. If not consumed, spoilage results in waste that must be properly disposed of. Furthermore, a store that sells a food product that has not been maintained within the proper temperature range may be exposed to liability from its patrons and loss of reputation. Moreover, by failing to maintain food products within a required temperature range, the store may be violating a government food safety regulation which could result the imposition of sanctions; however, unless product temperatures are continuously monitored from the point of origin through to the point of sale, verification that the product has been maintained within the proper temperatures is at best only inferential.
In order to help prevent contamination of food products by spoilage, it is customary to periodically check the temperature of the fixture that holds the food products. If the temperature rises to a certain temperature, the growth of micro-organisms is accelerated. Unfortunately, without actually without continuously monitoring of the actual product temperature, this type of monitoring does not yield accurate or complete temperature history information about the condition of the food products. Furthermore, there are typically periods of time prior to sale in which the temperature is not checked at all. As a result, there are gaps in the temperature information data during which the food product temperature could be outside the proper range and this event could go undetected.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus that monitors and tracks the temperature of a product continuously from the point of origin until it is removed from the display case by the consumer for immediate transport to the point of sale.
According to its major aspects and briefly recited, the present invention is a data management method and apparatus that provides better information and control over food products prior to sale to consumers. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes a sensor that is associated with the food product when received, distributed or produced and that remains with the food product as it moves through the receiving, distribution, storage, preparation and merchandising steps of the retail process. The sensor is also in electronic communication with a data management system for storing the product temperature data for later down-loading to the data management system as soon as the food product is received until it is removed from the display case by the consumer. The data management system receives the temperature data from the sensor. A network device connected to the data management system and display device performs a variety of functions including control and information output. The sensor measures or simulates product temperatures and transmits temperature information associated with the product to the data management system where it is recorded for later retrieval used for logical decisions such as control outputs and/or alarm and indication. The sensor is preferably capable of implementing computer algorithms to mimic the temperature of the product rather than solely the temperature of the product""s environment. The sensor also has various indicators to inform the user of the status of the sensor and the product""s temperature.
An important feature of the present invention is the recording of temperature data continuously from the point of origin until it is sold so that the seller and buyer can be assured that the product was stored and displayed at the proper temperature.
Another important feature of the present invention is the ability of the sensor to determine product temperature rather than solely the ambient temperature in the vicinity of the product. It accomplishes this by directly sensing the product temperature using the external probe or by use of algorithms benchmarked with real data for each product.
Still another important feature of the present invention is the use of the weigh scale/price printer to print out information about the product""s temperature history, proper handling instructions, preparation instructions, medical information and other information related to product for the customer so that the customer can verify that the temperature of the product was maintained within the specified range.
Other features and their advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art of food product handling from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments accompanied by the following drawings.